Most retailers conduct consumer transactions pursuant to electronic point-of-sale (“POS”) systems. These systems typically have a cashier terminal, which includes a scanner and a display to show the selling price of a product. The scanner generally used with these POS systems will typically scan a bar code, or other similar indicator identifying the product, through the use of a laser reading device. Typically, the display will illustrate both the individual product cost and a running total cost. Once each product has been processed, or read, in this manner, a consumer can often pay for the products through a payment interface.
Payment interfaces typically allow a consumer to “swipe” a payment card, e.g., a credit or debit card, into an appropriate mechanism on the payment interface. This swiping process more particularly consists of sliding a payment card through a receiving slot disposed on the payment interface such that the payment interface can obtain relevant information from the readable strip of magnetic tape located on the back of the payment card.
Oftentimes, payment interfaces will also have a Personal Identification Number (“PIN”) interface, usually in the form of a typepad, that will allow the consumer to input a PIN, verifying that the consumer is the proper holder of the payment card. The payment interface then receives the total transaction amount from the cashier terminal and processes the payment for that amount, directly through the network of the payment card issuer. The payment interface then sends approval back to the cashier terminal, confirming a successful payment transaction. Alternatively, the processing of the payment may occur at the cashier terminal.
Such POS equipment is often configured to allow for the use of conventional paper coupons. The use of conventional paper coupons to market and promote specific products is well known in the consumer sales industry. Conventional paper coupons are commonly distributed by various means, such as newspaper inserts, postal mailings, etc., and are usually structured to provide a consumer with an incentive to buy a particular product.
Coupons provide a discount on the purchase price of a specific product that a manufacturer wants to promote. The discount may be offered, for example, directly by listing the monetary value of the discount on the face of the coupon or indirectly by providing, for example, a percentage—or other—reduction or a premium if the consumer purchases a product (or, in some cases, a collection of products). The premium may be an offer for a second—or subsequent—product at no cost, or the offer of another related (or unrelated) product.
Coupons are sometimes used by manufacturers to promote sales of products that may be overstocked or outdated. Additionally, coupons may be used to promote new products and build brand recognition or share. Finally, coupons allow the manufacturer of a product to offer a particular product at a reduced price without actually changing the list price for that product.
Generally, a merchant provides a coupon incentive to a consumer immediately, such as upon the completion of a sale/purchase transaction of a particular product. In most instances, the coupon incentive has been authorized by the manufacturer of the particular product. Alternatively, the coupon incentive may be authorized by a third party specializing in the sponsorship of coupons. Once a merchant accepts a coupon from a consumer relating to a product, the merchant may then redeem the coupon for cash or other consideration from the manufacturer. Because a merchant will commonly redeem a large number of coupons from a wide variety of manufacturers, coupon clearinghouses are usually employed to sort, separate, count and authenticate the coupons, as well as to submit each coupon to its authorizer/sponsor for reimbursement, and distribute at least a portion of the reimbursement back to the merchant. In many cases, the coupon clearinghouse will usually collect a commission, and reduce the reimbursement by this commission, based upon the value of the redeemed coupons.
Unfortunately, currently-known paper coupon redemption systems comprise a very labor intensive process for both the manufacturer and the merchant. Additionally, the merchant must not only accept and grant credit for the coupons, but must also accept responsibility for physically transferring the coupons to a coupon clearinghouse.
Additionally, while conventional paper coupons may be effective in helping manufacturers dispose of merchandise, promote sales of overstocked or outdated products, promote new products and/or build brand recognition, the handling of such conventional paper coupons is burdensome and commonly subject to fraud, since conventional paper coupons may be easily duplicated, and the current system does not audit satisfactorily whether the conventional paper coupons were actually used by consumers in connection with the sale/purchase transaction for which the conventional paper coupons were issued.
Further, currently-known paper coupon redemption systems used in most merchant/retailer transactions validate conventional paper coupons by verifying that the Universal Product Code (“UPC”) associated with a product belongs to a family of products (defined by the manufacturer). In this situation, the merchant is ultimately responsible for maintaining accurate family codes on their POS system. As a result of this burden, some merchants have been typically known to bypass the family code portion of the validation process and only validate that the product is from an associated manufacturer.
Finally, in the circumstance where the brand of a particular product changes ownership from one manufacturer to another, the associated UPC is required to be changed. This leads to a situation which could be confusing to a consumer: Two different coupons are issued for one product, one from each manufacturer. Alternatively, to avoid this consumer confusion (as well as any accounting reconciliation), the new manufacturer is required to wait until the distribution channels have cleared before offering a coupon.
Accordingly, a need exists for a less labor-intensive, more flexible, and more secure method of generating and processing coupons.